THIS WAS THE BEST BOOK I’VE READ SO FAR THIS YEAR.
THIS WAS THE BEST BOOK I’VE READ SO FAR THIS YEAR.
WHAT I LIKED:
1. Character development
I never cared about Merik before but I liked him A LOT in this book. He learned a great deal on Windwitch but he was put to the test in Bloodwitch. Can’t wait to read more about his character because I find that I’m looking forward to his POV more than Safi’s. I like how he’s technically a prince but he’s not taking the “princely” role in this book. In fact, I don’t know what Susan Dennard is going to do with his character.
On the other hand, Safi’s character takes a back seat in Bloodwitch because Iseult is definitely stealing her spotlight. In the first book, Truthwitch, I expected Safi to be sort of the main MAIN character the reader had to follow throughout the series. But note that this series does have many different characters with pov’s… What I meant was that Safi would play a bigger role compared to her best friend, Iseult. However, throughout the series, I noticed more development from Iseult compared to Safi. While I would have loved more character development from Safi, I thought Iseult was more of an interesting character especially in the first book so I didn’t mind reading more about Iseult. The gist of this was that I enjoyed reading about Iseult’s character development.
Most of all, I enjoyed reading about Vivia’s pov and how her character changed overtime from Truthwitch to Bloodwitch. Merik painted her as a villain but after reading her pov, I really liked her character especially the gray area that the author had established. Vivia talking about her past, her father, Merik, etc. had been one of my favorite parts.
2. Revelations
Okay, I’m pretty sure Aeduan is… highlight for HUGE (possible) spoiler: Eridysi’s son. I’m pretty stoked about it. I want the whole backstory more than what was revealed in Bloodwitch. His characters go through a completely different character change which I actually enjoyed. Additionally, what most fans wanted and expected did happened in this installment. Shippers rejoice, but we all probably expected it already. Next paragraph-
3. Slow burn romance
The slow burn romance seemed to be evident since Windwitch and my feelings towards two certain characters only just amplified in this book. Iseult and Aeduan’s chemistry is off the roofs. Even without them together, they still sort of think about each other but it comes off in an organic way. Loved the slow burn romance between these two!
4. An abundance of strong female characters
Vivia, Vaness, Iseult, Safi, etc. I could go on but I think you get the gist of what I’m saying.
WHAT I DISLIKED (or liked the least):
1. Some subplots
REAL TEA: I could care less about Safi + her Hellbards. I only cared about Vaness because she was resourceful in every situation. I’d pick Vaness or Safi anytime. I honestly still am not fond of Safi’s character but the side characters surrounding her (like Vaness) intrigued me greatly. I think Susan dragged Safi’s current situation WAY TOO LONG. I just don’t see where it’s going. Neither do I care… I find that I’m no longer interested in what happens to Safi. Fortunately, Safi and Iseult unites by the end of the book so now I have a reason to care.
2. Pacing
Like Susan’s previous novels especially Sightwitch, the pacing can be SLOW. Sometimes it does pick up depending on the pov. It’s understandable because the stakes were higher in this book so the pacing can change from time to time. Like some characters can be in different situations, some worst than others.
3. World-building
I’m still unsure about what’s going on… Like, I thought the Rook King and the Raider King were the same person but they’re actually not? I still don’t know these paladins and what their magical abilities are. Like does everyone have magic, or do some people just acquire magic based on the paladin ruling where they’re from? etc.
4. Plot device
One of the wells is used as a plot device and it mirrors what happened to Iseult in Truthwitch. It’s kind of a magic fix you’ll expect when you want the plot to keep going with the same character/s and wanting to include some conflict in the situation. This isn’t a huge no-no for me but this was one of my least favorite aspects in this book. I can see why it was used (for another reveal) but still I hope to never read something like this in the future installments.
Finally, yes you have to read Sightwitch before reading Bloodwitch. The reveal in this book speaks for itself. Also, you might not be able to grasp the “ice” situation because the characters do go back to the settings in Sightwitch. A lot of the things that went down in Sightwitch happens in Bloodwitch one way or another.
But overall, this was one extremely satisfying read.
WHAT I LIKED:
1. Character development
I never cared about Merik before but I liked him A LOT in this book. He learned a great deal on Windwitch but he was put to the test in Bloodwitch. Can’t wait to read more about his character because I find that I’m looking forward to his POV more than Safi’s. I like how he’s technically a prince but he’s not taking the “princely” role in this book. In fact, I don’t know what Susan Dennard is going to do with his character.
On the other hand, Safi’s character takes a back seat in Bloodwitch because Iseult is definitely stealing her spotlight. In the first book, Truthwitch, I expected Safi to be sort of the main MAIN character the reader had to follow throughout the series. But note that this series does have many different characters with pov’s… What I meant was that Safi would play a bigger role compared to her best friend, Iseult. However, throughout the series, I noticed more development from Iseult compared to Safi. While I would have loved more character development from Safi, I thought Iseult was more of an interesting character especially in the first book so I didn’t mind reading more about Iseult. The gist of this was that I enjoyed reading about Iseult’s character development.
Most of all, I enjoyed reading about Vivia’s pov and how her character changed overtime from Truthwitch to Bloodwitch. Merik painted her as a villain but after reading her pov, I really liked her character especially the gray area that the author had established. Vivia talking about her past, her father, Merik, etc. had been one of my favorite parts.
2. Revelations
Okay, I’m pretty sure Aeduan is… highlight for HUGE (possible) spoiler: Eridysi’s son. I’m pretty stoked about it. I want the whole backstory more than what was revealed in Bloodwitch. His characters go through a completely different character change which I actually enjoyed. Additionally, what most fans wanted and expected did happened in this installment. Shippers rejoice, but we all probably expected it already. Next paragraph-
3. Slow burn romance
The slow burn romance seemed to be evident since Windwitch and my feelings towards two certain characters only just amplified in this book. Iseult and Aeduan’s chemistry is off the roofs. Even without them together, they still sort of think about each other but it comes off in an organic way. Loved the slow burn romance between these two!
4. An abundance of strong female characters
Vivia, Vaness, Iseult, Safi, etc. I could go on but I think you get the gist of what I’m saying.
WHAT I DISLIKED (or liked the least):
1. Some subplots
REAL TEA: I could care less about Safi + her Hellbards. I only cared about Vaness because she was resourceful in every situation. I’d pick Vaness or Safi anytime. I honestly still am not fond of Safi’s character but the side characters surrounding her (like Vaness) intrigued me greatly. I think Susan dragged Safi’s current situation WAY TOO LONG. I just don’t see where it’s going. Neither do I care… I find that I’m no longer interested in what happens to Safi. Fortunately, Safi and Iseult unites by the end of the book so now I have a reason to care.
2. Pacing
Like Susan’s previous novels especially Sightwitch, the pacing can be SLOW. Sometimes it does pick up depending on the pov. It’s understandable because the stakes were higher in this book so the pacing can change from time to time. Like some characters can be in different situations, some worst than others.
3. World-building
I’m still unsure about what’s going on… Like, I thought the Rook King and the Raider King were the same person but they’re actually not? I still don’t know these paladins and what their magical abilities are. Like does everyone have magic, or do some people just acquire magic based on the paladin ruling where they’re from? etc.
4. Plot device
One of the wells is used as a plot device and it mirrors what happened to Iseult in Truthwitch. It’s kind of a magic fix you’ll expect when you want the plot to keep going with the same character/s and wanting to include some conflict in the situation. This isn’t a huge no-no for me but this was one of my least favorite aspects in this book. I can see why it was used (for another reveal) but still I hope to never read something like this in the future installments.
Finally, yes you have to read Sightwitch before reading Bloodwitch. The reveal in this book speaks for itself. Also, you might not be able to grasp the “ice” situation because the characters do go back to the settings in Sightwitch. A lot of the things that went down in Sightwitch happens in Bloodwitch one way or another.
But overall, this was one extremely satisfying read.